UK & World News

Harry Recalls 'Missing Limbs' Horror Of War

Prince Harry has recalled the "horrendous" images he saw during two tours of Afghanistan.

The Royal described seeing children who had died from roadside bombs and the horrific injuries of soldiers on the battlefield.

Harry, who is a Captain in the Army, regularly flew injured personnel and civilians to the hospital at the Camp Bastion military base during his second tour.

Writing in The Sunday Times, he recalled: "On my first tour to Afghanistan in 2007-08 and again more so on my second tour in 2012-13, I saw some horrendous things: the tragic injuries and deaths of local people from roadside bombs, some of whom were children."

He recalled flying home last year looking forward to seeing family but remembers being joined on the plane by injured soldiers.

"I had never seen it first-hand," he wrote in the newspaper. "By 'it' I mean the injuries that were being sustained largely due to improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

"Loss of life is as tragic and devastating as it gets, but to see young lads - much younger than me - wrapped in plastic and missing limbs, with hundreds of tubes coming out of them, was something I never prepared myself for."

In his role as Apache helicopter pilot, the Prince said the memory of having to use the code "Op vampire" still sent shivers down his spine.

The code was used to let the medical team know the casualty they had on board would require a lot of blood.

The question of how people cope with the trauma of war, especially those left without limbs, was one Harry said played on his mind.

It eventually led him to setting up an international sporting competition for injured troops.